President says Czech Republic could join euro zone over next five years

Czech President Miloš Zeman told a German regional daily Passauer Neue
Presse in an interview published on Saturday that he imagined the Czech
Republic could adopt the European currency and join the euro zone within
the next five years. The position is a departure from that of his
predecessor Václav Klaus. In the interview, the president also said he
was
against Turkey’s joining the EU; by contrast, he suggested that Russia
could join over the next 20 years. Discussing EU foreign policy
priorities,
Mr Zeman stressed the importance of combating terrorism (including Islamic
terrorism), an area where he would like to see the Czech Republic play a
greater part.